I love when I have time to lurk at lunch, because inevitably Pav finds fun things I never knew I needed in my life until now. And I don't even eat soft boiled eggs! Pav, you really would make a most excellent personal shopper.

Amwick - congrats on a successful wedding party. I wanted to ask you about the homemade tortillas - I found the mix, made one batch - they were delicious but they broke easily. Do you have any ideas on how to prevent that? I used the directions on the package.

Thanks Amwick. I'm going to look for this locally. I have a tortilla press I'm dying to put to use!

I bought a tortilla press. Big time-saver. I roll the dough into a log, then cut and slice to make single servings. I also use plastic in the tortilla press. You really don't need to shape them much before pressing, somehow they end up pretty roundish anyway. A bit of an odd shape just makes them look hand made. They do cook very quickly, so watch carefully.

Good luck.

Can't wait to try it out! Homemade tortillas are just so dang good :) Thanks!

Grow some vegetables, even if all you have is some containers. Romaine lettuce is almost $3 a head here right now, and I can get a whole seed packet for $1.50. Plus with some leafy lettuce varieties that are slow to bolt and kale, you can harvest leaves off the same plant for a few months. If you've got more room, go nuts and grow stuff you'd be buying anyway. I haven't had to buy canned tomatoes or salsa for a couple of years now and all of the equipment is reusable.

thanks! what a brilliant idea!!!! I live in an apartment but have a small porch! :-D

Thanks to everyone! I hope anyone reading this also benefits from reading all the great ideas! I like making my own dinner rolls (as they come in large packets and aren't cheap) when i want some bread with dinner. They freeze well and super cheap and easy to make, plus they make meals taste better to have some fresh homemade bread :-)

Imperical - there are lots of ways to take advantage of gardening on a small porch - think UP! If you spend a little bit of time searching the web, you can find great ideas for creating vertical gardens. I know there's a hack out there for using the wooden shipping pallets - here's one way - and you can ask your local grocery store for a couple. They tend to have extra hanging around.

That's very cool - thanks for posting the link. I can see why architects would be interested in the aeroleaves for potential uses on rooftops, etc. If it was not too outrageously priced, I'd be interested in some form of that to power my own home.

It was a great surprise! DH and I each entered 51 different weeks (it was an online contest through Australia Someday (left one entry off as it involved motorcycles and neither of us ride) and actually won week #20.

Of course you do, that's what Russia smells like - Trouble and vodka and despair. And beets.

Hiya Chatters!

I almost never post in here (I tend to lurk at lunchtime though - you all can be very entertaining!) But I had to come out of stealth mode because this particular string of comments had me laugh out loud. Thanks for making my Thursday a smidge better :)

I love thinking of this topic! And, as Lys mentioned, my list changes often. There are too many interesting places to visit and not enough vacation days to do so. I've been to 7 of your top 10, Nomo and was fortunate to do quite a bit of traveling with my family overseas. As of tonight, my top 10 places to visit next are:

1. Kruger National Park, South Africa

2. Cape Town, South Africa

3. New Zealand

4. Argentina (Mendoza)

5. Indonesia

6. Bora Bora

7. Egypt

8. Morocco

9. Chile

10. Banff/Lake Louise

And like anew (I think) , my #11 is also my #1 - Australia. I've been before and I am returning this Fall, but I would move there tomorrow if I could find employment.